Foil

Character Role Analysis

Henry and Benny

There's an interesting distinction to be made between Henry, who's the eldest Alden child, and Benny, who's the youngest. When we first encounter them, "the little boy was looking at the cakes, [and] the big boy was looking at the loaves of bread" (1.2). That's Henry and Benny in a nutshell; Henry is responsible and practical, where Benny is more frivolous and carefree.